The Clash
by justmoi
Summary: Sean and Tracker Cameron are visited by someone they'd least expect. When she comes to Toronto, relationships are formed. My first Degrassi fanfic. Please review!
1. Default Chapter

The Clash

Chapter One: "Nobody's Home"

_She wants to go home, but nobody's home. That's where she lies, broken inside. –Avril Lavigne_

* * *

Sharei was tired. She was always tired. Not quite asleep, but in a trance, she stared out the train window at nothing in particular, dozing off.

"Mommy?" questioned a small voice grabbing her attention.

Sharei turned around quickly, rubbing her eyes. "Mmm?", acknowledging the small girl in the seat across from her.

"What's a-a-acid?" obviously sounding a word out.

"Acid? What? Where do you see that?" asked Sharei looking around at the advertisements on the train.

The 5 year-old shook her head, pointing to her mother's shirt. "A-C-I-D. A-a-cid."

Sharei looked down and with an exasperated laugh realized that her tee read: "Drop acid, not bombs". "It's um…it's nothing really, Cate." she replied with a smile to reassure her curious daughter. Satisfied with the answer for now, the child smiled back.

The two rode in silence for awhile, making sure not to disturb their other companion, a baby of less than a year, asleep in Sharei's arms. Eventually, they all gave in and closed their eyes.

* * *

In the morning, the sun's bright light shone through the window and the train jerked to a halt. Now awake, Sharei made sure that she had all of her belongings. Not that there was much to have. A large purse, a duffel bag and Cate's backpack held everything.

The train opened it's doors and the bustle of Toronto's station filled the air.

"C'mon, c'mon now." Sharei hurried Cate along, playfully nudging her back with the duffel. They exited their car and stepped onto the platform, still tired from their trip but in awe of the myriad of newsstands, phone booths and fast food restaurants.

"Let's go, Cate. Off to the side, out of the crowd. We've got to get everything together." Sharei said gently, guiding Cate to a small empty table near a coffee stand.

"I'm hungry." said Cate a bit crankily.

"Hmm, we'll see what we can do about that." Sharei winked at her daughter and got up and walked to the coffee stand. "Excuse me, how much are the large danishes?" she asked the clerk behind the counter. He looked up; "Uh, three seventy-five."

"Oh," she answered disappointed. She didn't have four dollars. "Well, um…just a muffin then."

The clerk noticed her disappointed look and her glance that wandered over to a table where a small girl was sitting alone.

"Alright. Well, that'll be two-nineteen"

Sharei pulled out a single and a bunch of coins. "Okay," she counted out loud nervously. "Two-fifteen. Umm..you don't usually cut muffins in half, do you?"

He smirked. The dark haired clerk was maybe a bit younger than she and Sharei couldn't help but feel drawn to him. "Well, it's not standard procedure but…" he reached into the "Give a penny, take a penny" jar near the register and pulled out four coins. "this is."

"Oh God, thanks!" she said sincerely and took the bag from him. "You're a lifesaver…Craig!" She had noticed his name tag.

Walking back to the table, Sharei was satisfied. She sat down, adjacent to Cate, baby still in her arms and smiled. "Open the bag, sweetie."

Cate opened the paper bag and took out the blueberry muffin. Starving, she quickly took a large bite.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute! We've got to share that!"

"But, there's more!" the girl argued.

"What?" Sharei was puzzled and took the bag back and peered inside. At the bottom of the bag was a large cherry danish.

"Oh, alright. Eat up!"

She smiled to herself and then turned around and caught Craig's eye. "_Thank you_" she mouthed to him.

He smiled back at her, nodded and went back to work.

* * *

The girls were completely satisfied with their snack. Even Thalia, the baby enjoyed a full bottle filled with the individual cups of milk offered for free next to the sugar packets. They found a phone booth with a directory book inside. Sharei had become quite accustomed to holding a baby and looking after a five year old and their belongings while doing other tasks and so she quickly turned to the C section of the book while she held the telephone against her shoulder. She flipped through the pages and mumbled to herself. "Cameron, Cameron…Tracker Cameron!"

Not having much money, Sharei decided to take her chances calling collect. She entered the number and spoke her name clearly while the company dialed the Cameron residence.

"We're sorry," a pre-recorded woman's voice said into her ear. "Your call could not be completed because there is no answer on the other line. Please try your call again later."

Sharei slammed down the receiver. "Dammit!" She closed her eyes, breathed in and composed herself. Turning around, she faced Cate and smiled. "Oh well…Nobody's home. We'll try again later."


	2. Surprise!

The Clash

Chapter 2: Surprise!

"Why don't we _surprise_ them?!" exclaimed Cate, eyes wide.

"Oh, dollface." Sharei sighed "I think our phone call will be enough of a surprise. It's a bit rude to show up on people's doorstep." _Especially when you need something_ she added silently.

"But Uncle Tracker and Uncle Sean love us. I'm sure they won't mind." Cate answered matter-of-factly, taking her mother's hand and giving her a pleading look.

"Alright, alright. But, we can't show up like this. Look at you, dirty bird!" scolding playfully Sharei led her out of the telephone booth and looked around for a bathroom. Inside, she felt something tug at her heart. They were all dirty and in the end it was probably her own fault. Cate and Thalia would never see her cry though.

In the bathroom, Sharei spent 20 minutes making them all look as perfect as possible with the utilities she had at hand. Sure, they got a few glares. But, not as many as the woman sleeping on the heater. Sharei made it a point not to disturb her. She had been that woman more than once before.

Next, she had a mission; to find out how to get to 47 S. Oak Avenue. After getting the brush off from a few rushing commuters and at least an attempt from some people that didn't speak English, Sharei got an idea. They rushed back to the platform and found the coffee stand that they had sat at earlier. There was no line, so Sharei ran up to the counter. "Coffee stand Craig! Please tell me you know this area!"

"Okay, I know this area." Craig answered sarcastically, but with a smile.

"I'm serious! Do you know where South Oak Ave. is?"

"Yeah, actually. My friend lives over there."

"Well, how do you get there?"

"From here? It's too far!" Craig exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me how to get there!"

"Look, I get off soon. Let me take you there."

"Uhhh…no!" Sharei said defensively. She didn't need anyone to be a witness to her crazy family reunion. "Don't worry about it. I can't wait. Just tell me how to get there. I'll be fine. Promise."

Craig scribbled directions down on an order pad and handed them over. "Good luck." he said.

"Thank you! You've just been saving me left and right today." Sharei looked down at the directions and waved before turning to leave.

* * *

It took them well into the afternoon before they reached the corner of South Oak Avenue. As banged up as the neighborhood was, Sharei had never felt more safe knowing that her brothers were just a few houses away. Her thoughts were interrupted when a motorcycle turned the corner just as they were. She watched the bike disappear beyond a bush and into a driveway. Although she couldn't see the house number, she knew that this was where she had to go. They approached the house slowly, with anticipation. But, anticipation of what, Sharei didn't know. From behind the bush, they could hear Tracker and Sean talking.

"How'd it run this time?" asked Sean with the clanking of tools and metal boxes in the backround.

"I don't know. Something's still missing. I think it's the…brakes." Tracker spoke slowly when he suddenly noticed the expression on Sean's face change. He turned around.

The three girls were now visible at the end of the driveway. Cate ran happily to greet the uncles that she has missed. Tracker and Sean hugged her half-heartedly and silently, still shocked. Sharei approached cautiously and with a small smile to break the ice, said "Surprise."


	3. A Number

The Clash

Chapter 3: "A Number"

"Look, I just need to stay here for a few days. I'll find a job, it's not like there's a shortage of minimum wage high school drop out work around here." pleaded Sharei.

"A few days? To save up how much money exactly?" questioned Tracker.

"All I need is one paycheck. I'm asking to borrow your address; a house number and telephone to put on an application. Then I'm gone."

"Gone where?" asked Sean.

"I don't know. But it's obvious that you don't need three extra mouths to feed. Once I collect I'll get out of your place."

"What about Cate? She should be in kindergarten."

"Yeah, I know." said Sharei, almost ashamed. "But, you need a house number to register for that too."

Thalia was asleep and Cate was just outside of the screen door, playing on the steps. The three Cameron siblings had not seen each other since the night that Thalia was born. Sharei had disappeared after being discharged from the hospital. Occasionally, people got phone calls from her, never from a permanent number though. Just a payphone, whenever she had a quarter to spare. It was more obvious to outsiders how much Sharei cared about her brothers when they were younger. She loved being their little girl, especially since she never got to be their father's. Even Sean, the baby of the family, felt it necessary to protect her.

"I know that showing up here wasn't the best idea. But you're my brothers and I love you. Money is tight for everyone, but we should be tighter. We're a family." Sharei meant every word and truly felt that her brothers would be able to help her out. But, she always did have a way of improving what needed to be said.

"Yeah, well, a fucked up one." said Tracker. "But, a family nonetheless."

"I'll make up the couch." added Sean.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, I know that was a short chapter. But, I felt that I needed to explain a bit of the family's background and set up everything for future events. I hope you enjoyed what you have read so far.

I really do adore getting all of your reviews. Of course, the compliments are nice but I'd like to know what you would like to see. Thanks!

Thanks to Ale Curtis-Carter, fairysk8r and PsYcHoJo for what they wrote! I'm really glad that you like it so far and that you appreciate my hopeless attention to details. :)

(By the way, PsYcHoJo, Sharei's name is pronounced "Sha-ree".)


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